Deeper communication

A Reflection by Beloved in the Desert Corps Member, Maddie

Beloved in the Desert is an Episcopal Service Corps program that calls together young adults for a 10.5-month commitment to prayer, service, and intentional community in Tucson. Corps members serve in local non-profits in Tucson that work to end homelessness, hunger, and poverty, live in intentional community, and pray together and with the community in Southern Arizona. Through their efforts they do the work of justice while being grounded in the liturgy and support of the Church, and they gain the spiritual skills to live in intentional community.

During my time in the Beloved in the Desert program, I have been consistently invited and challenged into deeper, clearer, and more honest communication.

My placement at Habitat for Humanity requires me to give orientations to new volunteers. As this involves about two hours of talking, it can be really challenging for an introvert! But the opportunity to meet new people and explain to them exactly what their role is and how they can best support Habitat’s mission has been tremendously rewarding.

A new volunteer often has no idea what to do or where to begin, whereas I have been doing my job for a few months now and have more familiarity. I have to remind myself of both their relative lack of information and their curiosity.

Likewise, in a tight-knit, intentional community with people who a few months ago were strangers to me, there are a lot of things I have to explain about myself to orient my community members to my background, history, and worldview. I have grown in patience and self-knowledge simply from the amount of self-reflection required to ask myself, “Why do I prefer the dishes to be done in this way?” or “Why do I find it hard to request alone time?” and then explain that in clear wording to people who haven’t known me for very long. In doing this, I have increased my capacity for openness—especially openness to others’ stories.

During the early days of the pandemic, I was often both physically and emotionally closed. I did develop helpful skills around boundaries, so it wasn’t all bad, but I often found myself feeling mistrust and like I couldn’t let anyone “in.” The depth of honesty required of me in intentional community and in my placement has caused me to begin letting people in again.

—Maddie, BITD Corps ’21-’22

Mark you calendars for upcoming opportunities to learn more about the work of the BITD members at the non-profits they serve:

10:15am-11:00am, November 21 in the Gallery
Habitat for Humanity, Beloved in the Desert, and Church Partnership Forum

10:15am-11:00am, December 19 in the Gallery
Community Community Food Bank, Beloved in the Desert, and Church Partnership Forum